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Suspected serial killer indicted for murder in '62 death

JACKSON, Miss. — A half century after his wife's body surfaced in a Louisiana river, a Louisiana grand jury indicted Mississippi native Felix Vail on Thursday for murder in the death of his wife, Mary.

Suspected serial killer indicted for murder in '62 death

Felix Vail was the last known person to see three women alive, his first wife who drowned in 1962, his girlfriend who disappeared in 1973, and his second wife who disappeared in 1984. Jerry Mitchell of The Clarion-Ledger investigates.

Felix Vail is accused of killing his wife and is the last known person to see 2 other women alive who now are missing.

Felix Vail was indicted June 27, 2013, in connection with the death of his wife almost 50 years ago.(Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.)

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Felix Vail's wife drowned in 1962 in a Louisiana river

Despite a bruise on back of her neck, scarf in her mouth, authorities ruled her death accidental then

If a jury convicts Vail, the 73-year-old man would receive a sentence of life without parole automatically, said John DeRosier, Calcasieu Parish district attorney.

At the time of Mary Vail's Oct. 28, 1962, death, Felix Vail insisted she had fallen out of the boat while they were fishing in the Calcasieu River, which runs through downtown Lake Charles, La.

Authorities ruled her death an accidental drowning, despite apparent contradictions in Felix Vail's story and the fact he had purchased a life insurance policy on his wife months earlier.

In November, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger raised questions about possible foul play in Mary Vail's death. Her autopsy showed she had a 4-inch bruise on the back of her neck and a scarf 4 inches into her mouth.

Dr. Terry Welke, Calcasieu Parish coroner, since has determined she was dead before she went into the water.

Felix Vail, arrested in May in Canyon Lake, Texas, was the last known person to see her and two other women alive: his longtime girlfriend, Sharon Hensley, who disappeared in 1973; and another wife, Annette, who disappeared in 1984.

The families of the women welcomed news of the murder charge.

Mary Horton Vail around the time of her marriage to Felix Vail in 1961.(Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.)

"All we wanted from the beginning was justice, and now we feel we're getting justice," said Mary Vail's brother, Will Horton of Lafayette, La. "We're going through due process that we should have gone through 51 years ago."

Annette Vail's mother, Mary Rose, who pushed for decades to reopen the cases, said she was glad to see this day come.

"I'm just thrilled, even more than when he was arrested," she said. "I know it's moving forward."

Hensley's brother, Brian, said he hopes the indictment gives authorities more time "to fill in the blanks on the other cases."

Both he and his brother are submitting DNA to a database in hopes of being able to find their sister's body among those collected in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

If authorities can identify her, that also would give authorities the homicide location, said Mike Nance, regional administrator for NamUs.

Felix Vail's lawyer, Public Defender Andrew Casanave, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

DeRosier said he expects an Aug. 14 hearing to determine whether a public defender can continue to represent Felix Vail.

Under Louisiana law, only the indigent are eligible to be represented by a public defender.

In a June 18 hearing, Casanave revealed Felix Vail had at least $20,000 in the bank. He also recently sold his house in Tulsa for $149,000 and reportedly is getting paid $1,000 a month.

DeRosier said he expects it will take a year before Felix Vail goes on trial.

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At the time of his wife's death, Felix Vail told deputies the couple had gone trotline fishing and that his wife had fallen out of the boat and drowned accidentally.

But when deputies questioned him the next morning at his boat, they found the trotline still coiled in his tackle box.

The couple's babysitter told deputies that Mary Vail was wearing an off-white, leather jacket that night, and Felix Vail said she was wearing the jacket when she fell into the Calcasieu River.

But the jacket was missing when her body was found.

Four months before his wife's death, Felix Vail had purchased a $50,000 accidental life insurance policy on his wife. That was added to an $8,000 double indemnity policy he already had on her.

"Even though he was behind with most of his major financial obligations, he was able to pay the entire premium on the $50,000 … policy," deputies wrote.

Felix Vail later settled with the insurance company for $10,000, but bills, letters and interviews reveal he never paid any money toward her funeral, burial or headstone.

According to the sheriff's report, deputies believed he was guilty, pointing out problems in his story, such as "she was not wearing a life preserver even though she had a great fear of water and could not swim."

From the place his wife went into the water, Felix Vail traveled miles downstream, passing a number of lighted locations where he could have stopped and sought help.

“All we wanted from the beginning was justice, and now we feel we're getting justice. We're going through due process that we should have gone through 51 years ago.”

Will Horton, Mary Vail's brother

He "passed up a lighted tug boat in the vicinity of the drowning without requesting assistance even though according to his own admission he did not panic and remained calm throughout the entire sequence of events and remembered everything that happened," according to the report.

During his marriage, Felix Vail had relationships with others and was quoted as saying he did not love his wife, Mary, "that she was stupid and at times he thought she looked vulgar," the report says.

Her college roommate, Cindy Miller, said Felix Vail propositioned her but she refused.

At the time she attended Mary Vail's funeral, she was married and expecting.